Avalanche surf forecast

Avalanche: 3 to 6 feet Sunday, waist to head high; today 3 to 4; Tuesday 3 to 4. In the water there: 2.8 ft at 6 seconds from the W (276°) and 2.4 ft at 17 seconds from the WSW (254°). The tide: high 4.2 ft at 4:46 AM, then low 2.7 ft at 9:49 AM. Ocean Beach, north of the pier and south of Dog Beach.

• Sunday: 3 to 6 ft, waist to head high.
• Monday: 3 to 4 ft, waist to chest high; dawn wind offshore from the E, 5 mph.
• Tuesday: 3 to 4 ft, waist to chest high; dawn wind offshore from the NE, 5 mph.
• A sand break facing WNW.

How it takes a swell

Avalanche is the Ocean Beach bar between the pier and Dog Beach, beginning at the first rock groin north of the pier and it always has something on it. It isn't fussy about direction: a south, a west and a northwest all reach it, and the wide, flat shelf in front of OB takes a little of the push out of a long-period swell before it gets here, as it does for the whole beach. What makes Avalanche different from the sand either side is what it does with two swells at once. When the right combination of swells meets on the bar they cross up into short, wedging peaks that can go hollow, which is what it's known for. It's a low-tide wave, at its best as the tide drops, and it goes soft and fills in toward high. It handles a small to a little overhead swell; past that the bar closes out.

Who it's for

Intermediate to advanced.

Watch out for

Rock jetties can produce a helpful rip but don't get too close.

Also in South San Diego: Scripps Pier · La Jolla Shores · Ocean Beach Pier

Surf from CDIP's nearshore points, wind from NOAA's HRRR and the National Weather Service, tides from NOAA. About · Privacy